Fertility and dry cow diet

[Devon lad]

just done our 6 week scanning of our spring calving jersey Friesen crossbred herd today. And we’re down a lot on in calve rates. The unproductive/beefier cows served to beef have held well, but the milkier 2/3 and first lactation animals have struggled. The major thing we have done differently is in the 2 month dry period we fed a lot of wheat straw as silage was so scarce here. Some were on 50:50 silage/wheat straw, some on 1/3 maize gluten 2/3 wheat straw. Our dry cow minerals were free access Mvf minerals sprinkled on silage, which is a bit hit and miss. The first lactation animals also didn’t loose there winter coat as quick as the cows, quite uneven. Any insight much appreciated. Thanks

 

[In the pit]

Been there done that with same results
Cows calvesd thin lost 1/2 condition score and get thinner and then don't get in calf
The other thing you'll see is not too many cows calving first 3 weeks but a lot in the middle 6 weeks as the cows got on a rising plane of energy

 

[Devon lad]

Been there done that with same results
Cows calvesd thin lost 1/2 condition score and get thinner and then don't get in calf
The other thing you'll see is not too many cows calving first 3 weeks but a lot in the middle 6 weeks as the cows got on a rising plane of energy

. They calved in about right condition, they usually calve a bit fat ish, but this rarely gives them calving issues. When is the egg made, and does straw/maize gluten diet have some mineral deficiencies compared to silage/hey?

 

[Grassman247]

. They calved in about right condition, they usually calve a bit fat ish, but this rarely gives them calving issues. When is the egg made, and does straw/maize gluten diet have some mineral deficiencies compared to silage/hey?

We are going back to bolus from using minerals, autumn herd have stayed on bolus with them calving outside and fertility has improved over the last 4 years vs the spring herd declining, it’s not the whole picture but it’s certainly not helping

 

[Devon lad]

We are going back to bolus from using minerals, autumn herd have stayed on bolus with them calving outside and fertility has improved over the last 4 years vs the spring herd declining, it’s not the whole picture but it’s certainly not helping

We’re doing exactly the same, we’re using bolus this year. I think breeding from the Milkiest girls means minerals are a must.

 

[Beef farmer]

We are going back to bolus from using minerals, autumn herd have stayed on bolus with them calving outside and fertility has improved over the last 4 years vs the spring herd declining, it’s not the whole picture but it’s certainly not helping

What bolus are you using? Bespoke? Cost?

 

[In the pit]

Pre dry cow
Dry cow
Transition
All these cows need to be fed properly at these stages
Your just looking for something that isn't there

 

[Grassman247]

What bolus are you using? Bespoke? Cost?

Tracesure and tracesure-I, depends what minerals the cows need year on year, last year heifers needed copper but the cows didn’t

 

[multi power]

Energy

 

[Stuart1]

Energy

Hit the nail on the head.

 

[lazy farmer]

How are you defining energy ? What is your matrix for deciding whether cows have enough or not ?

 

[deleted user 837354]

If you are going to feed minerals, feed them in dry cow rolls so you know every animal is getting a dose daily. Buckets, licks and free access minerals are far too hit and miss. Have you ever tasted dry cow mineral? Anything containing magnesium will taste absolutely foul.

 

[Stuart1]

How are you defining energy ? What is your matrix for deciding whether cows have enough or not ?

Calving In with a BCS of 3.5 so she has enough flesh to get over peak production before she begins to level out and stabilise herself. I get all cows scored 30 before before calving & 30 days after calving and going from the information recorded a cow calving in with a BCS 3 or under takes a lot longer to get in calf 9 times out of 10.

 

[deleted user 837354]

Energy

That makes logical sense, wheat straw was switched in instead of silage, the cows filled up on it and it was less digestible/energy dense anyway so had a sizeable reduction in energy throughout.